It’s easy for accountancy firms to say “we’re launching this new service so let’s do x y z to promote it” or “this firm is doing this so we should too”. However, more often than not, your target audience is often wondering “ok… and?”
That doesn’t help you! Picture this: how would you feel if you were sharing your services with someone and all the other person had to say was “so what?”
You wouldn’t feel very confident in yourself and your services, right? So why should your prospects and clients?
The underlying problem with that approach is that your marketing doesn’t have any meaning behind it – the kind that addresses your prospect’s needs and says to them “we can help solve your problems!” Accountants need to have this underpinned in every part of their marketing.
Nowadays, saying you’re modern or forward thinking isn’t enough. Your clients and prospects are now highly educated, and they’re looking for far more than that!
Listing out all your services has no meaning for your audience
There are a lot of accountancy firms out there whose website has every service listed individually, often with a page for each service. A lot of the time these are also templated, meaning they are the same across multiple accountancy sites (having templated content like that is another story).
Having all of your services described in such a generic fashion will instantly turn away your audience. For one, your clients will immediately be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information. Even the navigation needed to find what they want can turn them away if it’s just too much.
But to go back to the idea that your audience is made up of highly educated business owners, then that means they already know you offer these services.
Originally the accountant was seen as the all-seeing, all-doing problem solver. But now because of technology such as cloud accounting, your audience is more educated with greater access than ever before to their business finances and a better understanding of their business.
Your clients pay you for implementation
Nowadays, your audience will pay you for the implementation. They’re paying you to come into their business and free up their time usually spent on the compliance work, giving them more time to work ON their business.
But more importantly… you need to prove you can help free up that time!
You need to prove you can provide anxiety relief for them, confidence, destiny fulfillment, a peaceful night’s sleep… not that you can provide an audit, a tax return and so on!
Use your content marketing to create value
Your prospects won’t come and do business with you straight away. They want to see the value in what you can do for them.
It’s not enough to say you do “tax returns” or you can “reconcile their bank weekly”. They want to trust that you can advise them on their business. That you can help free up their time.
You can’t build that trust overnight. But you can use your content marketing to give your marketing meaning and do so on a drip feed. This keeps your audience engaged throughout the whole journey of coming to you. From coming on-board through to their next project.
Some of the most powerful forms of marketing can be:
- Case studies and testimonials: These can act as real proof that you can achieve results for businesses. By showcasing the story of how you’ve helped someone succeed, you allow people to see who you really are. You’re telling a real story that can impact other people.
- Blog posts: Blogging on a regular basis is a fantastic way of showcasing your expertise and connecting with clients. It gives you the chance to answer the most common questions they are facing. Giving them practical support before they’ve met you. This can be incredibly helpful to them and immediately frames you as a trusted advisor.
- Video & social media: Similar to blogging, video is another form of personalised content that you can incorporate into your ongoing content strategy. Your audience loves “how-to” videos, which give them a step-by-step guide into a subject they need to learn about. If you combine videos with social media, you have a fantastic way of expanding the reach of your content and reaching a wider audience!
Your audience knows you’re the expert…
…But right now they don’t trust you.
They want to see that your services can provide value to them and it’s up to you promote your services in a way that shows the benefit to them.
You need to promote your services by showing how you can achieve results, whether this be with case studies from other businesses, or blog posts on topics that support your services, your marketing should be used build their trust over time and develop the relationship.
Show your services in a way that makes sense to your audience – underpinned with meaning to them and supported by results from businesses who have been in a similar situation.